The beloved Evansville man who traversed almost every mile of this city on foot, often with a backpack of books and beer for company, died Tuesday after a fight with cancer. He was 51 years old, surrounded by friends who held his hand at Deaconess Hospice.

Guthrie served as a chef for various restaurants and spent years working at Book Broker. He leaves behind a close family, including a slew of nieces and nephews he loved like mad.

A celebration of his life will take place from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at Sunset Funeral Home. It will, undoubtedly, be well-attended.

But as close as he was with so many people, Guthrie always maintained a fog of mystery.

Even some of his closest friends had no idea he had cancer until his family started a GoFundMe two months ago to help pay for impending funeral costs. (It raised more than $5,000.)

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Rudy Guthrie holds his hands together after treatment as he waits for instruction from a radiologic technician at Deaconess Gateway Hospital Aug. 20, 2018.(Photo: MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press)

Since finding out, friends have launched the Facebook page Friends of Rudy. As of Thursday, it counted almost 300 members and more than 3,000 comments. Friends have shared portraits, home videos, stories and songs.

“I don’t know one person in all my years of knowing him that disliked him,” Spillman said.

Stories

Since word got out that I wanted to write about Rudy, friends new and old have flooded me with anecdotes. Way more than could ever fit in one article.

They talked about his otherworldly intelligence. How he could put any situation in perspective. And how he weaved his way into the lives of at least a couple celebrities.

“He once got Jack Nicholson's phone number from a former housekeeper,” his friend Doug Shawhan said. “He gave (Jack) a quick call to see how he was doing.”

He also bumped into one of his favorite authors, which was great for him, because he was a voracious reader.

“And I don’t mean well-read like the average book worm,” said Chris Roeder, who has known Rudy since high school. “Trying to give Rudy a book recommendation was like trying to (give) Stephen Hawking (advice) about stars.”

Rudy often kept a copy of “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” in his bag, so when Kurt Vonnegut blew into town to speak at the University of Evansville in 1986, he had to go.

Most attendees kept their distance – either because they were intimidated or because Vonnegut had a reputation for being prickly.

Rudy didn’t operate that way, though. He had a copy of another science fiction book and wanted to get Vonnegut’s thoughts on it. So he sauntered right up, and the two chatted for several minutes.

But despite all the stories, Rudy wasn’t some character dreamed up by a feverish novelist, Shawhan said. He was a genuine, caring person.

“If your house burned down, he was there with whatever kind of a tent he could scrape up before they were done rolling up the hoses,” he said.

Sometimes the acts of kindness were small. And sometimes he changed lives.

Josh Pietrowski was drinking with Rudy at The Peephole one night when he mentioned that he’d love to start brewing his own beer.

The next morning, Rudy brought him a gift: a book about craft beer.

That launched a new career. Pietrowski went from a Turoni’s bartender to head brewer and eventually graduated to owning his own place: the popular Doc’s sports bar on Stringtown Road.

“He gave without ever being asked to give. He listened without ever being asked to listen,” Pietrowski said. “And he made you feel, even if for a moment, like there was at least one person in the world that gave a damn about you.”

Collin Clarke receives the second coat of a spray tan applied by Shannon Tichenor, owner of Salon T in Newburgh, Ind., the day before his Indiana Muscle competition in March of 2018. No bodybuilder competes without a good spray tan which helps accentuate their muscles for the judges and audience as they compete. DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS

Heather Harper of Newburgh, Ind., pulls her 2-week-old daughter, Violet, in close for a skin-to-skin session in The Women's Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit Aug. 13, 2018. Heather had to be careful with not only the preemie's tender skin, but also her many monitor wires. DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS

The Highland Highlanders fifth-grade basketball team's bench erupts after taking a one point lead in the final seconds of their game against the Stringtown Chargers at Stringtown Elementary School Monday evening. The Highlanders came out on top 27-26 in the nail-biter of a game. DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS

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Christian County right fielder Bryson Brown hauls in a fly ball for the third out of the sixth inning in their game against Henderson County during their Second Region semifinal baseball tournament at Christian County High School in Hopkinsville, Ky., Wednesday evening. DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS

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John Buckman, left, a chief retired after 35 years with the German Township Fire Department, heads back to his vehicle with his grandkids, Kate, 5, and Nicholas Wood, 8, hauling his cowboy boots from a fire at 630 Marlene Drive in Evansville Tuesday evening. "We were at the bank when I heard the second alarm fire," Buckman said of their delayed date at McDonald's for ice cream. "I said, 'Kids, we're going to go see the fire first. See if we can help.' It's the life of a volunteer firefighter," he continued. "You drop what you're doing and go help people." DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS

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SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS, Sam Owens

Gabriel Skaggs, 7, and Rev. Barry Skaggs wade through flood water between their home (left) and Beals Pentecost Church (right), where Barry is a pastor, in Reed, Kentucky, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. Gabriel spent time playing in the water around his home and didn't miss any school days because he is home-schooled. Sam Owens,Evansville Courier & Press

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North High School seniors Ryan Huebner (left to right), Alex Mosteller and Hatch Gerth perform a methane gas bubble experiment during a science show put on for visiting Delaware Elementary School first-graders inside a science lab at the high school in Evansville, Ind., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Throughout the school year, NHS Science teacher Brian Dougan's classes have put on a student-run show for all of their feeder schools, which also includes Evans Elementary, Oak Hill Elementary, Scott Elementary, Vogel Elementary and North Junior High School. SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS, Sam Owens

Jensen Breamer, 3, is dressed as Pennywise, a character from Stephen King's "It," during the Halloween Trunk or Treat Extravaganza on Powell Street in Henderson, Ky., Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. SAM OWENS/ THE GLEANER

Dan Masterson, center left, and his son Roman Masterson, 11, center right, test out the Liberty Swing, which allows disabled children to hook their wheelchairs into the platform, at the new Mickey's Kingdom playground in downtown Evansville, Ind., Saturday morning, Oct. 27, 2018. The swing was made and shipped from Sydney, Australia. SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS

José de Jesús Rodríguez's sunglasses fly off the top of his head while he tees-off on the 17th hole during the United Leasing & Finance Championship at Victoria National Golf Course in Newburgh, Ind., Sunday, April 29, 2018. Rodríguez shot a final round 70 to win the 2018 ULFC tournament title.
SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS

Staff Sgt. Dusty Gebhardt, a member of the United States Army Golden Knights parachute team, free falls towards downtown Evansville, Friday afternoon, June 29, 2018. The parachuting team practiced their routine of landing beside the Four Freedoms monument in preparation for the ShrinersFest Air Show, which will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS

People watch the fireworks show while lounging in the grass near the Ohio River during the Independence Day Celebration at Old Lock & Dam Park in Newburgh, Ind., Tuesday, July 3, 2018. Rain showers hit the area in the afternoon, but ended as the 2018 Historic Newburgh Fireworks and Evening at the Park event kicked off. SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS

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Pageant participant Mariama Black-Wilson holds her one-month-old grandson Ja'Zeon during a dinner break at the 5th Annual Glamorous Grandmother's Pageant held at the Greater St. James Community Recreation & Education Center in Evansville, Ind., Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018. Black-Wilson has seven children, three of them adopted, and three grandchildren. SAM OWENS/ COURIER & PRESS

Marietta Peckenpaugh takes a break from putting the garden to bed to play fetch with her french poodle, Bailey, at her home off Main Street in downtown Henderson Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press, MaCabe Brown

Autumn Koehling, 21, Illinois chants with protesters that gathered in front Old National Events Plaza after a march to the for President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again rally in Evansville, Ind. Aug. 30, 2018. MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press, MaCabe Brown

Fellow soldiers stand next to the casket of Sgt. Drew Watters in the lobby of Christian Fellowship Church during a "Celebration of Life" ceremony in Evansville, Ind., Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 14, 2018. The 23-year-old Evansville native was killed in a training accident in his Tacoma, Washington base. MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press, MaCabe Brown

Danny Hill from New Bern, N.C. walks his partner Darby, an English Labrador retriever, through an arson investigation scenario during the Arson Dog recertification program hosted by the Evansville Fire Department on Wednesday, June 6. MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press, MaCabe Brown

Leah Whitaker with Indivisible Evansville leads a chant among protesters at the Old National Events Plaza after a march near the Ford Center for President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again rally in Evansville, Ind. Aug. 30, 2018. MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press, MaCabe Brown

Paige Hoefling adjusts her goggles before the start of the 7-8 year-old 25 yard Butterfly during the 2018 City Swim Meet preliminaries held in Evansville's Garvin Park Saturday. The meet, with nearly 800 swimmers ages 4 to over 65-years-old, continues Sunday with the finals, July 14, 2018. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS

Kendra Creek and Wade Conway spend some together time with Conway's service dog Dagwood. During the evening Wade, who was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, and Kendra, who is a quadruple amputee due to bacterial meningitis, spend their evenings without a caregiver, April 11, 2018. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS

People play carnival games while the Freak Out ride weaves patterns in colored lights in the background of this 15 second time exposure at the West Side Nut Club's Fall Festival Wednesday, October 3, 2018. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS

Vectren volunteer Fauna Kell gets down in the grass to play zombies with kids at the Ark Crisis Child Care for the United Way Day of Caring, where hundreds of volunteers spend the day working at local nonprofit agencies to kick off the annual United Way fall campaign Friday, September 7, 2018. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS

Henderson County’s Max Wawrin (11) reacts after losing to Hopkinsville 2-0 as the Henderson County Colonels play the Hopkinsville Tigers in the regional final at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School Thursday, October 18, 2018. MIke Lawrence

The rivers are rising, crewman Nathan Ligon with the towboat Capt. Doug from Evansville Marine Service uses Henderson's Green River Road #1 for a landing because the road to their service dock is flooded by the Green River Wednesday, February 21, 2018. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS

Traffic negotiates high water near the intersection of South Green and First Streets after a mid-day severe thunderstorm unleashed torrential rain and wind gusts reportedly near sixty miles per hour on downtown Henderson Thursday, May 31, 2018. MIKE LAWRENCE / THE GLEANER

Super Blue Blood Moon rising above Henderson's Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church Tuesday evening. According to NASA the "super moons" are when the moon is closer to Earth in it's orbit, known as perigee. It is also the second full moon of the month, commonly known as a "blue moon" and early Wednesday morning a total lunar eclipse occurred giving it a reddish tint, known as a "blood moon." It will be twenty years before this combination occurs again, January 30, 2018. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS

The day before his deadline, he was drinking beer on the porch of the News 4U office when Rudy just happened to pass by. Campbell grabbed some fresh beers, fired up the tape recorder, and the two sat down for an epic interview that lasted through the night.

When Campbell got up the next morning, he discovered the tape was blank. It was frustrating, but it fit Rudy perfectly. No man could ever capture him.

Although they always kept in touch, that was the last time he saw Rudy in person – until last weekend.

Campbell was living in Louisville when he got the word from their friend Brooke Williams: Rudy asked about you, she said.

Campbell didn’t rush to the bedside. Like all of us, he was wrapped up in his own life. And he didn’t fully understand the severity of the situation.

“I knew he had cancer (and that in itself is serious), and she told me he had just broken his leg,” he told me. “But it’s Rudy. He’ll be OK, right?”

He arrived in Evansville on Jan. 12. When he got to the hospital, he found the room packed. Rudy’s friends were everywhere.

“Some of us had gained weight, lost hair, gone grey, grown beards, raised families and, in my case, forgotten how important friends can be,” he said.

Jokingly, he sent a Facebook message saying they were having a party in Rudy’s home. Bring beer and barbecue. And people did just that.

“The nurses and hospice staff said they’d never seen anything like it in their lives,” he said. “It was an unrivaled gathering of love.”

They stayed until the end. Until their friend slipped away.

“I don’t know why he asked for me that day. I don’t know why it was me there with him in the end,” Campbell said. “I think maybe I needed a wakeup call. I think maybe we all did.”